1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of video broadcasting systems, and in particular, to broadcasting systems configured to automatically record a video program on a user's program recording device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Digital video recorders (DVRs) and other program recording devices have become valued accessories in many video systems. These devices allow users to record video programs for later viewing (commonly called time-shifting). Users may program their DVRs to record video programming on a particular channel at a given time without further user intervention. This allows users to easily record programs while they are away from their video systems, are asleep, or are otherwise occupied. Users may also program their DVRs to record a series of programs, such as television shows that appear weekly at the same time and channel. This allows users the opportunity to record all of the episodes of their favorite shows without having to be present during the broadcast.
Most DVRs allow users to view a menu of upcoming programming so that they may select which programs to record. On many systems there are a large number of channels (often over 100), each carrying a large number of programs. It may be difficult for users to navigate through these huge menus to select all of the programs which may be of interest to them for recording. Users may not recognize programs which would be of interest to them for a variety of reasons, such as misleading program titles, their appearance on rarely viewed channels, or because the programs are at a later time frame than what is being viewed and so don't appear in the section of the program guide currently visible to the user.
Also, when new programs are created, users may not be aware of their existence until several episodes have passed, and are left trying to catch up to an ongoing series. Special events which are only broadcast once are particularly vulnerable to missed chances for recording. Users may not be aware of the event, or in some cases, like newscasts, there may be no way to schedule the special broadcast in advance since many newsworthy events are not predictable. Also the user may be out of town before or during the event. In these cases, users missing the initial broadcast will most likely never have the chance to view the original, un-edited program.
Broadcasters may also desire to provide programming to a plurality of their users, but allow the users the opportunity to select when to view the program. For example, a satellite television service may produce a program explaining changes to the system that most users will need to view in order to understand the changes. Currently, the provider would need to allocate a channel to the program, and repeatedly broadcast the program to allow users to view it at their convenience. This method uses large amounts of limited broadcast bandwidth.